(News-Press) -- Riding any wild animal is generally not a good idea, but in this YouTube video, a man did just that - he ridesa giant whale shark off Florida's west coast.

The video was posted under the user name LimitedOutFishing and shows a man jumping off the back of a fishing boat, swimming to the whale shark, grabbing its dorsal fin and then turning back to smile at the camera.

A YouTube comment by Dr. Bob Hueter from Mote Marine Laboratory advises boats keep a safe distance from whale sharks and for swimmers to keep at least six feet away. "Touching, much less riding, a whale shark is discouraged for the health of the fish and the swimmers' safety," Hueter writes.